The Sting of a Bee
by pyxistar
Summary: Bees sting. Betrayal stings worse. [Miraculer spoilers.]


"_Queen_ _Bee_ _will_ _change_ _her_ _mind."_

It wasn't too late yet. Chloé could turn back or tell someone. She probably should do both. But who would she tell? Who would take her seriously? She swallowed. No, she had to do this, just so she could remind herself how truly insane it all was.

The blonde turned into a dark alleyway. An evening squall swept through her hair. For once, she barely bothered to tuck every strand back into place. Chloé used her hand to draw her hair away from her mouth and leaned against the grimy wall. Her hands were shoved inside her pockets. She felt the mace concealed in the palm of her hand in case she needed it, and she kept her head down. This was all new to her; her heart felt ready to burst into oblivion.

A blue-clad woman entered to the right. Chloé watched her approach from the peripheral of her vision. Finally, the woman called out to her. "Chloé, how nice to see you. We were almost afraid you weren't going to show up."

"And why wouldn't I?" Chloé countered. She relied on her bravado to keep herself from showcasing the fear that pooled into her stomach. She swallowed down any resulting stomach bile that tried to creep its way up her throat.

The other woman ignored her snippy remark. She gracefully swept past, keeping her head down and her arms behind her back. "Have you considered our offer?"

"Of course I have! Why do you think I'm here?" She shifted her weight on her feet.

Crumbled cans and trash cluttered the alleyway. Someone had tossed a group of trash bags inside; one of them smelled particularly bad. When another gust of wind blew, she smelled something akin to rotten eggs. Chloé wrinkled her nose and scooted further away.

Her mouth suddenly felt dry. What was she doing here in this disgusting place, making a deal with the devil? She sucked in a deep breath, released it slowly, and then brushed away her inhibitions. There was no going back now.

A few storm clouds rolled in and blocked the starlight from entering the alleyway. In the dark, the other woman's eyes looked increasingly sharp and deadly. They reminded Chloé of diamonds in a way; they were pretty, deadly, and sharp.

"And what have you decided?" The woman prompted. Chloé closed her eyes and cut the ropes that tethered any lingering doubts to her. Suddenly she felt free and decisive.

"I'll accept your deal, Mayura, but under one condition. I don't want anyone knowing Queen Bee is working with Hawk Moth."

"Of course," Mayura turned to face her fully. "Everyone will finally see that you're more of a hero than Ladybug will ever be, Chloé."

"Yeah, yeah." Chloé gathered the rest of her bravado and leaned forward with a smirk. "Just one more thing. You don't mind if I invited a few friends, do you?"

Mayura's eyes bulged at the implication. "What?" She gasped, reeling back to locate the others that Chloé had brought along. Just as Mayura grabbed one of her signature feathers, Chat Noir dropped down behind her and held his staff near her neck. He had one hand on each end of it, making sure to keep the woman in place whilst not causing her any physical harm.

Ladybug leaped down after him. She landed on her feet and held out one hand to balance her. Then she crossed the pooling shadows to stand beside her partner. Chloé approached, faking a yawn. "Did you really think I would fall for your pathetic lies? Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous! I told you, I would never join Hawk Moth."

Mayura stared, mouth shut in a firm line, but said nothing. "Me-ouch! That must sting." Chat chuckled.

"Now let's find out who you are behind that fan, Mayura." Ladybug reached out to grab the villain's miraculous. Just before she could, Chloé cleared her throat.

"Wait! Before you do that, we had a deal."

When Ladybug finally turned back to look at her directly, Chloé could see the little moon's of doubt in her eyes. They eclipsed with the heroine's integrity. Like a corset, frustration wrapped itself around Chloé's chest; it was snug and left her body feeling misaligned. The blonde extended a hand.

Ladybug turned to look at Chat, who nodded. "You're right. Thank you, Chloé. You did well tonight." And then Ladybug held up a familiar object: the bee miraculous. "Remember, you're just using this to trick Hawk Moth. He doesn't know you turned on him; when he sees Queen Bee walk in, you will use venom to immobilize him while Chat Noir and I take his miraculous. After that, none of us can keep our miraculous."

Chloé nodded in affirmation. Mayura would be used to gather intel. Once her civilian identity was discovered, their search would more than likely narrow dramatically. The plan was brilliant, utterly brilliant, but as Chloé stared at Ladybug, she couldn't help but feel another jolt of uncertainty.

It wasn't too late. She could put an end to this all right now. She didn't. Chloé took the miraculous. Then the true betrayal began.

After she transformed, Queen Bee grabbed her spinning top. "Venom!" She called and hit Ladybug in the back just as she turned to face Mayura. The red-and-black clad girl toppled to the ground like a sack of bricks, every part of her body immobilized by the kwami magic. Chat Noir called out his partner's name as she fell. He almost didn't notice that Mayura's body dematerialized. When she did, Chat fell back in surprise.

"Chloé!" He was practically hissing. His hair stood on end; he looked like an angry, feral tomcat in the dark of the night. She almost shivered. "What have you done?!"

"What she should have done a long time ago." Volpina knocked Chat Noir in the temple with the end of her flute. In both shock and sudden pain, he crumbled to the ground, barely managing to catch himself with his hands. Volpina was quick to pin him to the ground and grab his hand in hers. Chat used all his remaining strength to slam Volpina against the alleyway wall. The villainess grunted as the oxygen in her lungs was forced from her body.

Chat turned to grab his staff, which had clattered to the ground nearby, but Queen Bee tossed the end of her top. The string wrapped around his body. Once again, he fell, and Volpina pushed herself back onto her feet.

"It's not too late to do the right thing here!" Chat tried to reason with her as Volpina kneeled down next to his battered form to take the miraculous from his hand. Queen Bee turned her back to him and sat next to Ladybug, who groaned as the magic's hold began to loosen.

"Yes, it is." She said.

"Cataclysm!" Chat Noir managed to wedge one of his hands out of the binding just enough to touch the string of Queen Bee's spinning top. It disintegrated immediately, allowing him to rear his head back. Volpina gasped as his skull clashed against her jaw, her teeth snapped loudly, and she crumbled to the ground.

Queen Bee's heart rate quickened as she worked to remove Ladybug's miraculous before Chat Noir could stop her or Ladybug was freed of her magic-induced coma. One earring was taken before Chat hurled himself at her. His staff was back in hand, and thanks to his cataclysm, Queen Bee was without a weapon. In order to protect his lady from both Queen Bee and Volpina, Chat stood over Ladybug's body with his staff poised like a fencing sword.

Her hair comb beeped a warning. She was about to change back. She felt like a sitting duck, staring into the green pits of lethal rage Chat Noir had for eyes. If she de-transformed now, how would he use that to his advantage? Perhaps, Queen Bee thought, he would end her pitiful existence then and there.

Volpina rubbed her jaw as she walked in long, slow strides toward Queen Bee. "Oh, you're going to transform back soon. What a shame. I'll deal with them, don't worry, you should run."

"No, Volpina!" Queen Bee swallowed hard. "You know what to do."

Volpina turned toward Ladybug and glared hard at her figure. The heroine was finally shifting into a sitting position, albeit it slowly, and the villainess was clearly tempted to rush over and rip the other earring out of place. With a sigh, the vixen put her flute to her mouth. "Fine. But next time, I'll handle Ladybug." Volpina used her illusion magic to cast a blockade of thick fog around them, though she was clearly irritated by Queen Bee's apparent uselessness in the situation. The two girls turned and ran.

When they found some refuge on the nearby rooftops, Queen Bee opened her palm and stared down at the Ladybug earring she managed to take.

"Well, well, well. Imagine that," Volpina smirked as she admired the red-and-black object. "Looks like Hawk Moth will be getting something after all."


End file.
